Thoughts on using Rocksteads with ZDP 189 in the Electrical trade.

Personally I think this is just a “flex” thread and we haven’t even seen proof of the knives yet anyways
 
A Large CRK is the only knife I use daily. I have no problem whatsoever with them at work. The only time I use anything different is if I’m stripping hot wires then I’ll use the Klein insulated skinning/stripping knife. I’ve never had the first days problems with it. Other than a snapped tip but that’s a different story ha

I don’t have any experience with a rockstead or that steel but I did have a s110v chip on me. I was doing nothing out of the ordinary, stripping a piece of 3/0 thhn and it just chipped. Took a little half moon out of the edge. I heard it before it saw it. That knife was a slicing machine but was a little too thin behind the edge for me. I’m not sure of the hardness on it. CRKs s35vn is ran a little soft compared to others but it works well for me
 
BD_01 said:
Rockstead ZDP destruction video.

If you want to use it, DO IT!
Personally, I can relate to wanting to use your stuff, even the nice stuff. I’m there as well. My ‘nice’ is not at the Rockstead level, but the same principle applies.

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Yep, that is where I'm at. 👍
 
Dcdavis said:
A Large CRK is the only knife I use daily. I have no problem whatsoever with them at work. The only time I use anything different is if I’m stripping hot wires then I’ll use the Klein insulated skinning/stripping knife. I’ve never had the first days problems with it. Other than a snapped tip but that’s a different story ha

I don’t have any experience with a rockstead or that steel but I did have a s110v chip on me. I was doing nothing out of the ordinary, stripping a piece of 3/0 thhn and it just chipped. Took a little half moon out of the edge. I heard it before it saw it. That knife was a slicing machine but was a little too thin behind the edge for me. I’m not sure of the hardness on it. CRKs s35vn is ran a little soft compared to others but it works well for me
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Stripping cable would probably be the worst task the knife would see, the rest is opening boxes, cutting banding, etc. But I'm sure you know all to well what goes on day to day in elec. Usually I'm using S30V, S90V, or M390. I even used some lower grades, but had to sharpen too often. I just really want to see how the convex holds up. So I'm just going to use one and see how it turns out. Thanks for the input.
 
JPD61 said:
Stripping cable would probably be the worst task the knife would see, the rest is opening boxes, cutting banding, etc. But I'm sure you know all to well what goes on day to day in elec. Usually I'm using S30V, S90V, or M390. I even used some lower grades, but had to sharpen too often. I just really want to see how the convex holds up. So I'm just going to use one and see how it turns out. Thanks for the input.
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No problem. I usually get a month of use before they need sharpening. I don’t keep them razor sharp tho, working edge is perfectly fine. Hell I was cutting shingles and that self adhering tar paper a couple weeks ago
 
I'm not really great at sharpening, I use the Worhsharp precision, and an get one shaving sharp. But of course the one I'm gonna use will be sent away for sharpening, once it's beyond stropping. Curious to see the results when it comes back from Japan. Don't know if they will get it back to mirror and original sharpness or not. But this is all what I want to see, how it holds up, and their services.
 
My opinion is that if an owner wants to use the knife; used it. You bought it. It’s your money. No one should tell you what to do or not with it.

However, I’d personally refrain from using a Rockstead for electrical work if I owned one. 😉

But that’s just me.
 
Just do it. Use them, and if they don't hold up stop using them to strip cable. I don't care what knife I have on me at work, it's getting used to strip cable if I have to strip cable. xm18, shaman, endela, griptilian, adamas...if I had a rockstead I would be using it. They seem to hold up well enough to the DBK boys, and I doubt you're going to be doing anything near what they did.
 
ScarFoot said:
Good to hear! I hate to chime in on threads about knives I don’t own or have experience with but I’ve been interested in ZDP-189 for a while. I think Spyderco has another model or two available in that steel so you might want to take a look at what’s out there. I normally carry smaller knives though so I haven’t found one yet that interested me other than the Dragonfly 2s spyderco made a few years ago.
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They do, I got an Endura in it and am thinking of the Stretch, too, just because this seems to be such an overlooked steel, and I hear such great things about the performance. I own it, but have not used it yet, was quite a recent purchase.

Anyone have a comparison between this and REX45?
 
Shorttime said:
I should stay out of this because I don't own a Rockstead. I'm barely comfortable carrying and using a knife that tops $150 USD, and Rocksteads are waaaaay above that.

Copper hardness is measured on the Rockwell B scale. Which is to say, it's not threat whatsoever to the blade of a knife. The jacketing is a polymer, which is plenty tough for what it is, but again, offers no danger of chipping your blade. The most worrying thing would be dropping the knife on a concrete floor.

So the reason I'm sticking my oar in, is that it seems like overkill to use a thousand dollar knife. If you don't mind, can you tell us more about your thought process, or what you're hoping to gain over other cutting tool choices?
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This is inaccurate. Rockwell hardness is not the only determinant factor in edge damage. You assume because one is harder than the other that the softer medium is incapable of putting enough lateral stress on an edge to cause chipping. That’s the worry here, not dulling. Diamond is significantly harder than concrete. Put Diamond against concrete, apply force, then drag it. The Diamond will chip easily because it’s brittle. The same goes for most high hardness steels. Couple that with their lack of toughness with regard to shock and you can easily experience chipping out on copper wire.
 
Murdamook said:
This is inaccurate. Rockwell hardness is not the only determinant factor in edge damage. You assume because one is harder than the other that the softer medium is incapable of putting enough lateral stress on an edge to cause chipping. That’s the worry here, not dulling. Diamond is significantly harder than concrete. Put Diamond against concrete, apply force, then drag it. The Diamond will chip easily because it’s brittle. The same goes for most high hardness steels. Couple that with their lack of toughness with regard to shock and you can easily experience chipping out on copper wire.
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Does Rockstead run their ZDP that hard? I'm learning new things here.
 
Hashishiin said:
They do, I got an Endura in it and am thinking of the Stretch, too, just because this seems to be such an overlooked steel, and I hear such great things about the performance. I own it, but have not used it yet, was quite a recent purchase.

Anyone have a comparison between this and REX45?
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Yeah, I’ve got a Native Chief in Rex 45. It doesn’t like lateral stress. I broke the tip off and chipped the blade. Haven’t done that with the Stretch I’ve got. I was pretty much doing the same things with both knives. I’m more careful using the Chief now.
 
Ajack60 said:
Yeah, I’ve got a Native Chief in Rex 45. It doesn’t like lateral stress. I broke the tip off and chipped the blade. Haven’t done that with the Stretch I’ve got. I was pretty much doing the same things with both knives. I’m more careful using the Chief now.
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Ooh, thanks for telling me! I've got a PM2 in Cruwear Micarta and a S45VN, and am trying to figure out the ideal purposes of each. The Cruwear seems to be toughest, and the S45VN seems in between with better edge retention than the Cruwear. I'm trying to figure out which of these blades would be the best to outfit with custom wooden scales, probably the most delicate one, so probably the REX45.

I've been thinking that super hard, edge-retention steels like this ZDP-189 and the REX45 should best be used as like, formal/"gentleman" slicers, delicate use. Seems they'll hold up for a long, long time that way.
 
When I was in the throes of my knife collecting phase I bought a Rockstead SHU in ZDP189 to see what the hype was about. I was impressed enough with it that I used for day to day chores without worry. Then I used it to score a shelf made of particle board and by gently twisting the tip of the knife only about a millimeter deep about that much of the tip chipped off. I was able to sharpen it and restore the tip using sand paper followed by metal polish and it looks almost as good as new until you look closely and can make out some superficial scratches. That said I’m more concerned with corrosion than damage although in hindsight that amount of damage, however minor, is a mark against the knife even if that’s not necessarily the ideal use for a knife.
 
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According to knife steel nerds Rex45 is tougher but zdp189 has better edge retention. They must be expensive steels because you don’t see either one very often.
 
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